Tennessee legislation · 114th General Assembly
Tennessee HB1673: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 7, Chapter 34; Title 7, Chapter 82; Title 9, Chapter 21 and Title 68, Chapter 221, relative to utility regulation.
Status: Chaptered, May 15, 2026
Fiscal Summary OTHER FISCAL IMPACT Due to multiple unknown variables, any impacts to utility systems in this state resulting from, but not limited to increases in revenue through clawback provisions regarding utility board members or interest payments received pursuant to internal loans issued by such systems, or any subsequent impacts resulting from mergers initiated as a direct result of this legislation, cannot be reasonably determined. Bill Summary Present law provides the procedures governing a petition for the incorporation of a utility district. Among those procedures is the requirement that the county mayor schedules a public hearing to discuss the incorporation of the district. This bill removes the requirement that the county mayor read the final comments of the Tennessee board of utility regulation (the "board") to those in attendance at the public meeting. CONSOLIDATION OF UTILITY SYSTEMS This bill authorizes two or more utility systems, with at least one being a utility district, to agree to consolidate to more efficiently and conveniently furnish the utility systems' services. In order to initiate the consolidation, the utility systems' governing bodies must pass a resolution that includes a petition to one or more county mayors requesting that the mayor or mayors enter an order approving the agreement, and that the petition be submitted to the county mayor of the county or counties in which the utility system will be created. If one of the utilities is a multi-county utility system, then the petition must be submitted to the county mayor of any county within the utility system. A petition for consolidation must name up to five individuals, each of whom is an existing member of the governing body of one of the existing utilities, to serve as commissioners for the consolidated utility. If five individuals are n
What the bill says
A resolution to concur in the consolidation and to initiate the consolidation. (C) The governing body of each utility district seeking consolidation shall submit a petition to the county mayor of the county in which the utility district was created to approve consolidation. If the utility district is a multi-county utility district, the petition must be submitted to the county mayor of any county in which the multi-county utility district was created in whole or in part. - 2 - 015992 (D) (i) The county mayor or mayors shall proceed with the petition in the same manner as provided in this chapt.